Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
The Numbers Behind An Epidemic: More Than 2 Million Teens Have Used E-Cigarettes New Survey Finds
The Associated Press: 2 Million US Teens Are Vaping Marijuana
A school-based survey shows nearly 1 in 11 U.S. students have used marijuana in electronic cigarettes, heightening health concerns about the new popularity of vaping among teens. E-cigarettes typically contain nicotine, but many of the battery-powered devices can vaporize other substances, including marijuana. Results published Monday mean 2.1 million middle and high school students have used them to get high. (Johnson, 9/17)
Los Angeles Times: More Than 2 Million U.S. Middle And High School Students Have Vaped Marijuana, Study Finds
The report comes less than a week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a crackdown on companies that produce and sell e-cigarettes in response to their failure to keep the devices out of the hands of minors. The 2017 Monitoring the Future survey from the University of Michigan reported that more than 2 million middle and high school students called themselves current users of vaping products, and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called it an “epidemic of nicotine addiction” among American youth. (Kaplan, 9/17)
In other children's health news —
The Associated Press: Watchdog Slams Safeguards For Foster Kids On Psych Drugs
Thousands of foster children may be getting powerful psychiatric drugs prescribed to them without basic safeguards, says a federal watchdog agency that found a failure to care for youngsters whose lives have already been disrupted. A report released Monday by the Health and Human Services inspector general’s office found that about 1 in 3 foster kids from a sample of states were prescribed psychiatric drugs without treatment plans or follow-up, standard steps in sound medical care. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 9/17)
Reuters: A Child Dies Every Five Seconds, And Most Are Preventable Deaths-U.N.
An estimated 6.3 million children died before their 15th birthdays in 2017, or one every five seconds, mostly due to a lack of water, sanitation, nutrition and basic healthcare, according to report by United Nations agencies on Tuesday. The vast majority of these deaths – 5.4 million – occur in the first five years of life, with newborns accounting for around half of the deaths, the report said. (Kelland, 9/17)
NPR: New Data Confirm Adverse Childhood Experiences Are Widespread
When researchers first discovered a link in the late 1990s between childhood adversity and chronic health problems later in life, the real revelation was how common those experiences were across all socioeconomic groups. But the first major study to focus on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) was limited to a single healthcare system in San Diego. Now a new study — the largest nationally representative study to date on ACEs — confirms that these experiences are universal, yet highlights some disparities among socioeconomic groups. People with low-income and educational attainment, people of color and people who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual had significantly higher chance of having experienced adversity in childhood. (Haelle, 9/17)
